Amid those influences, the women’s rights movement coalesced in Seneca Falls, spearheaded in large part by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. They were reformers who met through the anti-slavery movement but turned their attention to the emancipation of women. Stanton evoked the parallels between those causes in a speech she gave before the New York Legislature, in which she decried how color and sex had put many “in subjection to the white Saxon man.” Thus, from the beginning, reproductive freedom and women’s rights were closely linked, and they were connected with anti-racism and other social justice movements.

Mott and Stanton convened the first women’s rights convention on July 19, 1848 — 170 years ago this week. With nearly 200 supporters in attendance, the convention adopted a 12-point resolution that included a demand for women’s right to vote. Historians mark the event as the birth of the women’s suffrage movement.

Fast-forward to today, and it would be comforting to think that all of those struggles are history — that gender, race, and other markers of identity no longer bar adult citizens from voting. Unfortunately, that isn’t entirely the case. Like access to contraception or abortion, access to the ballot box is technically protected by law, but it is under persistent attack by lawmakers who want to make it difficult or impossible for a lot of people. Here are some of the obstacles to voting many still face today — and that often impact women and minorities disproportionately, sometimes in swing states where voter suppression can have a considerable impact on national elections:

From the time of Trump’s inauguration, when millions marched across the nation in protest, people have set their sights on the 2018 midterms as an opportunity to reclaim their power. “Grab Them by the Midterms,” a phrase that threw Trump’s notorious “Grab their pussy” comment back at his party and voter base, became a slogan that went viral on buttons, T-shirts, protest signs, and social media. What has been called the “Trump effect” has inspired thousands of women to run for local, state, and federal offices — including a record 298 running for the U.S. House of Representatives.

There has been a long and continuing fight for a fair vote, reminding us of the importance of every election. And there has been a whirlwind of crises and abuses in front of us, reminding us of the importance of this one in particular. The time to fight back is now.

The Arizona primary election will be held August 28, and the midterm election will be held on November 6. The deadline to register to vote is July 30 for the Arizona primary and October 9 for the midterm. Voters can get to know PPAA’s endorsed candidates in its “Meet Our Candidates” interviews and check in regularly on the PPAA website, Facebook page, and Twitter to know the issues in this year’s election.

About Matt

Matt has a background in human services, health disparities research, and administrative support at an academic health sciences center. In addition to Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, he volunteers with Read Between the Bars, a program that sends books to people in Arizona’s prisons. In his free time, he enjoys reading, studying Spanish, and playing Scrabble.